The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 21, 1996, Page 5, Image 5
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CHRIS DIXON Features Editor
. _ eroism, romanticism and a touch
Hof eroticism make "Days of Our
Lives" leading man Austin Peck
a heartbreaking heartthrob to
end all heartthrobs.
Peck, who plays Austin Reed on the
Emmy Award-winning drama, worked
as a model before joining the cast of "Days
of Our Lives" on April 13,1995. Peck
said even though modeling paid well,
becoming an actor was his goal.
"When it happened, it really felt right
in my life," Peck said. "A lot of things
came into place, and it felt very natural. J
was into acting before I was into modeling,
but modeling started paying a lot faster,
so I stuck with it and went with it. It
took me around the world. I met a lot of
different people and went to really exotic
places. It was very exciting to do and
pretty easy, actually.
"Doing my job on the soap is a whole
different story. I would say if s the hardest
acting medium to work in because you
have to do a show a day...There's not
much energy or effort put into the artistic
process...They (soaps) are not really
respected as much as they should be,
considering what we really put out in
the amount of time."
Peck said he did not feel he was doing
his job very well when he originally began
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I did," he said. "It was tough dealing with
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that and the fact that everybody is so
consumed with what they're doing that
no one puts any attention into what
you're doing. It's very self-discovering.
"Sometimes when I saw myself, 1
thought, That's not too bad.' Sometimes
when I saw myself it was like torture.
Fm my biggest critic. I draw a lot, and
when I do a good drawing, I don't care
who likes it...Hopefully, Fll get to a point
where I can be that way with my acting.
I feel like Fve only tapped into what Fm
really capable of showing."
When Peck joined the cast, he replaced
Patrick Muldoon, who left the series for
"Melrose Place."
"It was tough because I was coming
into a role that somebody else had made
popular," Peck said. "Not only was I
dealing with the fact that I didn't feel I
was doing a good job, but the guy that
was there before me was so popular and
went on into prime time. I was being
compared with someone who had three
years experience to me who had none."
Peck said when he came to work at
"Days of Our Lives," his castmates were
"extremely welcoming."
"They are very used to actors coming
and going," he said. "They were very
supportive, and I got nothing but positivity
from everybody. Actually, Jason Brooks
(who plays Peter Blake) was amazing.
He came into my room and talked to me
for 20 minutes or a half an hour. He gave
me all of these tips out of the blue. It
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Austin Peck, who stars as Austlr
Lives," made the transition from i
was very neat."
Peck is currently involved in one of
the major story lines on "Days of Our
Lives," along with Christie Clark, who
plays Carrie Brady; Alison Sweeney,
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Dattilo, who plays Lucas Roberts.
"It's exciting being a part of it and
being able to work with such a great ?
cast," Peck said. "Ifs an interesting story
line. It was really rough coming into a r
heavy stoiy line straight from not being ^
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Peck's status as a sex symbol was
:onfirmed when Cosmopolitan named
lim one of the hunkiest men 'on television,
Playgirl said he was one of the hottest
lp-and-coming men on television, and
ifM included him as one of the "50 Most
3eautiful Guys in the Universe." Peck
;aid that type of attention is flattering,
>ut it has a tendency to be fleeting.
"I love it when girls scream," he said.
Who wouldn't? If I go to an event and
prls are screaming and all crazy, it just
nakes me excited, and I get into it...Ifs
vhen everybody is really quiet that's
veird. I'm such a codependent person
jecause my energy feeds a lot off of other
>eople.
"It's ridiculous because I can go into
my modeling agency and pick 50 guys
rod blow all of the guys they picked away,
ooks-wise. A year- or two down the line,
hey are going to pick a whole new group
if guys. Ifs all for fun. Ifs all in how you
ake it."
Peck said a downside to being famous
s that fans often lose sight of the fact
hat he is a normal human being like
inybody else.
"People want to talk to you and hang
rot with you and become your friend,
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tiring and really draining because you
get put on a pedestaL and you get really
worried that you're going to disappoint
people by not being perfect.
"My belief is that we are all God's
children. We are all the same...I have
people waiting in line for me to sign
autographs, and I go, What is this about?
This is insane.' I'm learning to deal with
it My life really isn't affected by it because
I don't involve myself in the Hollywood
lifestyle. I live my life with my friends
and family. I have a very normal life,
depending on what you call normal."
Peck was scheduled to make an
appearance at a charity event in Camden,
S.C. on March 23, but the event had to
be cancelled due to low ticket sales. Peck,
however, donated his appearance fee to
the Aimin' High Head Start Program,
S.C. Cares for Children and Sistercare
of Kershaw County, the charities that
were going to benefit from his appearance.
Casey Robinson, a junior in the College
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of the Miss Greater Camden Pageant,
was involved in trying to bring Peck to
Camdea He said Peck is a good man for
donating his appearance fee after the
fund-raiser was cancelled.
"He's most generous," Robinson said.
"He has a very moral character. He's a
nice, down-to-earth guy, and he really
cares. We are very appreciative of him
for doing that (donating his appearance
fee)."
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